How To Install Late-Model Mustang Hood Struts

Ditch your Mustang’s prop rod and improve underhood looks

Ask any late-model Mustang owner what their number one gripe is about working under their hood—be it detailing or general service work—and they'll tell you it is Ford's low-buck answer to holding their hood open. The body color steel prop rod found on every late-model Mustang, from the most basic four-cylinder Fox to a $60K GT 500, is not only an eyesore, but it is cumbersome and visually unappealing. What good is having a freshly detailed engine with sparkling chrome or billet goodies only to have some metal “stick” propping the hood up? Let's not even begin to go into the hazards of bumping into it while working on your engine or the potential for wind damage due to over extending the hood into the cowl or the prop rod slipping and hitting the fender as the hood slams down on it (sound familiar?).

We know Ford outfits many of their other car lines with gas pressurized hood struts to retain the hood in the raised position (and many of these vehicles cost less than a new Mustang GT today), so why does the poor Mustang have to go without? Frankly we don't care what the reason is (though a safe bet would be the penny-pinchers in the accounting department), as thankfully we can solve this issue ourselves with any number of gas strut retrofit kits for all late-model Mustang applications, including aftermarket fiberglass hoods too!

We've installed several different kit designs over the years and they all work well, so it's mainly a decision of what do you want to pay, where you want to mount the kit, and perhaps choosing something fancy like body-colored brackets. One of the top gas strut retrofit brands is Redline Tuning's Quicklift hood support system. Redline Tuning has been designing high-quality hood strut kits for all Mustang applications and even offer optional polished stainless steel models. We picked up our Quicklift hood support system from the late-model experts at LatemodelRestoration.com, who stock the Redline Tuning kits for Fox, SN95, New Edge, and S197 Mustangs in the Quicklift, Quicklift Plus, and Quicklift Elite models. Installation on most models doesn't even require drilling! Check out how easy it is to ditch the prop rod on your Mustang as we Quicklift a '13 Mustang convertible.